The inventive concept relates to decoding methods and devices using same. More particularly, the inventive concept relates to hard-decision decoding methods using a low-density, parity-check code (LDPC) and LDPC decoders using same.
Contemporary semiconductor memory systems often incorporate an error correction capability. Errors may arise in the data being read from and/or written to a data storage device in a memory system due to many different factors such as noise. Errors are routinely corrected by the use of data coding/decoding techniques. Such error detection and correction (singularly or collectively denoted as “ECC”) capabilities use one or more error correction codes. Among many different error correction codes, those skilled in the art are familiar with the use of LDPC code. In general, LDPC code is an error correction code that uses a looped operations approach based on probabilities. Ongoing research seeks to improve the performance of ECC capabilities based on the use of LDPC code. Among other issues, the speed with which a constituent decoder may decode LDPC code is increasingly significant.